Tag Archives: Chickpea

A wonderful protein packed vegan meal that will satisfy the heartiest appetite. There is loads of protein from the quinoa and the garbanzo beans.

Not only was this recipe really filling and nutritionally packed but it was really pretty to look at.

I just love heirloom tomatoes. I always use them instead of regular old cherry tomatoes. Not only do they give a nice pop of color but the different colors have subtly different flavors.

There are several steps but they are really easy steps so making this little vegan, paleo masterpiece is a cinch. Next time I make this I may add another veggie just to punch the already awesome nutrition factor even more. I’m thinking peas or corn or both!! If I do, I’d use organic frozen veggies and add them at the same time I add the onions.

Combine all of the TAHINI DRESSING ingredients in a blender, Nutribullet or Vitamix, you get the idea. Blend until creamy and smooth. Set aside.

Slice each eggplant lengthwise and carefully scoop out the innards of each, set aside and dice up the scooped eggplant to use later. Be careful not to scoop too much, you don't want the skin to tear by making it too thin.

Drizzle a ½ Tablespoon of oil into each half and rub it into the 'bowl'. Place each eggplant half bowl-side down on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 - 25 minutes until evenly cooked and soft but not mushy.

Prepare quinoa. Place 1 cup of uncooked quinoa and 2 cups vegetable broth in a pan on high heat. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes stirring every 5 minutes.

While quinoa is cooking prepare the remainder of the filling. In a large pan heat 1 Tablespoon of oil on medium heat.

Add onion to pan and saute for 5 - 7 minutes until soft and slightly browned.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Grain Free, 6 ingredient Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies! BOOM! Yeah, you read that right. The best part? They are DEE-LICIOUS!!! I’m not even exaggerating, these are THE BEST “healthy” cookie I’ve made thus far.

Becki, my awesome friend/yoga instructor’s awesome best friend Amber gave me this awesome recipe. Amber Lynch is the Owner and Founder at Urban Herbals and Wellness. She makes real products for real people with real ingredients like herbal mists, teas, body butters, just to name a few. Amber is a certified herbalist and holistic nutrition consultant so I had faith in her recipe even though I couldn’t picture it yet. Now all I want to do is hug her 🙂

I cook for a wonderful family that have 2 awesome kids. One of them is an adorable little girl with a BIG sweet tooth. She can spot a healthy cookie a mile away and she came to sneak another one of THESE cookies!! Victory is mine – muahahhaha!!!

The ONLY thing wrong with this recipe is that it only yielded about 12 – 14 cookies so next time I make these (which will probably be this weekend), I’ll be doubling or tripling this recipe.

These taste exactly like moist, soft peanut butter cookies topped with a few chocolate chips. They are super soft when they come out of the oven so as hard as it is to do, you have to wait for them to cool for a few minutes off of the cookie sheet before diggin’ in so they set up a little.

⅓ to ¼ cup of organic honey or maple syrup (I used a ¼ cup of honey and they were plenty sweet. For a vegan cookie, use maple syrup)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup dairy free chocolate chips (can use regular chocolate chips)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor (I used a vitamix), put in all ingredients except for chocolate chips and blend until you have a nice sticky dough.

Since it will be so sticky, put the dough in the fridge for about 15 - 20 minutes so it's easier to handle.

Using a tablespoon or melon baller, form into balls and flatten with the back side of the spoon placing them on the cookie sheet. Since there are no eggs, they will not flatten like regular cookies so how you put them in the sheet is how they will turn out.

TIP: I used a tablespoon to make the balls but sprayed it with coconut oil first. That way the dough didn't stick to the spoon.

Place 4 or 5 chocolate chips on each cookie and push them down slightly so they stick to the cookie. I chose not to stir the chips into the batter because it is so thick and sticky. Putting them on top saved me clean up and frustration.

Bake for 14 - 17 minutes. (I baked mine for 16 minutes).

Remove from cookie sheet to cool.

These cookies are super soft and moist so let them cool for at least 5 minutes so they can firm up a bit.

Easy Peazy “Cheesy” Chickpea and Kale Sauté

This is my first recipe in our new house in Fountain Hills, AZ! I’m so excited. So what better way to celebrate than with some KALE! But seriously, I made this recipe because it was so super easy. Not only easy but DAIRY FREE, GLUTEN FREE, VEGAN and PALEO! Plus calcium, protein and fiber.

What makes it so cheesy is the nutritional yeast. I use Bragg Nutritional Yeast. I found mine at Vitamin Shoppe but Amazon has it too. I use it to make Baked Cheesy Kale Chips too. If you don’t know about nutritional yeast, I use it as a substitute for cheesy flavor. It’s tangy like a sharp cheese and melts up pretty good. I even shake it on my popcorn.

I found this recipe at www.fannetasticfood.com, made a couple of tweaks and bam, yummy cheesy chickpea kale salad!

The directions are so easy peazy. Put everything in a saute pan, saute for 5 – 10 minutes and serve warm or cold

I cooked mine for a good 10 minutes because I like my cooked kale really soft but if you still like a little crunch, 5 minutes worked good.

1. Dehydrated veggie snacks – We make ours in the oven or in our dehydrator. Both ways work. They also sell them at Whole Foods. Just make sure to check the label for any hidden ingredients that may not be so good for you. They are also great with Hellavu Good Greek Style Yogurt dips.

2. Kale Chips – We do make these at home too but I’ve recently found bradsrawfoods.com brand. Their Pina Kale-Ada (Coconut and Pineapple) flavor is awesome. I could and have almost eaten the whole container in one sitting. The www.bradsrawfoods.com brand is USDA Organic, vegan, kosher, raw and non-GMO.

Kale is a rockstar when it comes to vegetables, it’s actually a super food. By super I mean they top the charts as far as nutritional value. Give them a try.

3. Oven Roasted Chickpeas – I always have a stash of these in the house. Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) can take on almost any flavor combination you come up with. My favorite is a honey/vanilla/cinnamon mixture. They are full of fiber and have a really good crunch. They remind me of corn nuts. Look for the recipe in future posts.

4. Hellavu Good Greek Style Yogurt Dip – Let me start by saying that I do NOT like yogurt at all. No way no how. But…I LOVE this dip. I love all the flavors but my favorite is the French Onion. You would never know it had yogurt in it. It’s low in fat and calories, only has 3 carbs and even has protein in it.

You can dip your veggies, veggie chips or parmesan chips in it. I also use it as a dip for chicken and fish.

5. Dry roasted pumpkin seeds – I especially like the Eden Organic brand because it is low sodium, has fiber, protein and is magnesium rich. It’s also a good source of iron and zinc. Plus it only has 2 ingredients, organic pumpkin seeds and Eden Portuguese Sea Salt. The fewer ingredients a product has, the better.

6. Parmesan chips – An all time favorite of mine. I discovered a store bought brand at Whole Foods and went through them so fast that I figured I better learn how to make them myself. They are the easiest snack to make by far. Look for the recipe in future posts.

7. Honey fried banana – Last but not least are honey fried bananas. This simple recipe turns an ordinary banana into some crazy gourmet decadent dessert. A great way to sneak in a fruit and some potassium too. Look for the recipe in future posts.

Finding the right snack is half the battle. Just because you may not like a particular good for you snack doesn’t mean there isn’t one out there that you won’t love.